Some teams love to wave the “we’re self-managing” flag whenever alignment is discussed. But let’s be real—autonomy doesn’t mean doing whatever you want, whenever you want. It means taking ownership within a shared framework.
Scrum provides a system where teams have the freedom to decide how they deliver, but that doesn’t mean they can ignore Scrum events, commitments, or organisational goals. The Product Owner ensures alignment to business value. The Scrum Master ensures alignment to agility. The team ensures alignment to delivery.
Autonomy without alignment isn’t self-management—it’s dysfunction. True self-management is earned through trust, consistency, and accountability.
So the question is: Is your team truly self-managing, or just avoiding accountability under the guise of autonomy?
If you've made it this far, it's worth connecting with our principal consultant and coach, Martin Hinshelwood, for a 30-minute 'ask me anything' call.
We partner with businesses across diverse industries, including finance, insurance, healthcare, pharmaceuticals, technology, engineering, transportation, hospitality, entertainment, legal, government, and military sectors.
ALS Life Sciences
Philips
Lean SA
Kongsberg Maritime
Lockheed Martin
Higher Education Statistics Agency
YearUp.org
Teleplan
Trayport
Qualco
Bistech
ProgramUtvikling
Graham & Brown
Brandes Investment Partners L.P.
Alignment Healthcare
New Signature
Akaditi
Emerson Process Management
Washington Department of Enterprise Services
Department of Work and Pensions (UK)
Ghana Police Service
Nottingham County Council
Washington Department of Transport
Royal Air Force
Sage
Workday
Capita Secure Information Solutions Ltd
ALS Life Sciences
Boxit Document Solutions
Teleplan